Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters $200 Rifles

JB,
In 2004, you wrote an article on $200 rifles. I'm sure the price has gone up but are you finding any great deals?

That article inspired me to find a few $200 rifles of my own.

If I were witing it today, the title would be $300 rifles.

Yeah, I'm still finding some good deals. Here in Montana pump-action rifles can usually be purchased for a very good price, often under $300, but now and then a bolt gun can be found in that range, especially if it's in an unpopular chambering.

Pump action rifles (Remington 760, 7600 etc) are very popular in Pennsylvania.

Loonies love unpopular chamberings.

There is no such thing as a $300 rifle (centerfire, and damn few rimfire) in the state of Iowa.

before i even knew who you were that was my favorite article ever. still is. i love the fixer uppers and the uglies and the needs-a-new-scope projects.

I wonder about the impact of no, or very limited, rifle seasons in Iowa. Fewer total rifles available means higher cost? Not definitive, just a WAG.

I believe that you hit the nail on the head. There are not many rifles, so even though the same ones sit on the racks at dealers and show up on tables at gun show after gun show after gun show, the price never goes down. There is neither supply nor demand and that seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with price.

In my area push feed Model 70s and Model 700s in .30-06 or .270 or any of the WSMs can be found for $300.00. Marlin 336s and Model 94s turn up for quite a bit less.

Just bought a savage 16 in 7wsm for not much more than $200.

Bb

built a savage 110 custom off a $200 rifle. now it's a $600 rifle but it remembers where it came from

This thread reminds me of a Winchester model 70 Ranger I bought off a co-worker 10+ years ago for my son. It was butt ugly, the cheapest rifle I guess Winchester ever built, but when I mounted the $100 Swift 3x9-40 on it that I'd won in a big buck contest and ran a few Federal Premium factory Sierra Game Kings through it, there was one big ragged hole on the 100 yard target.

I have more rifles than sense, with dozens of Sendero's, LSS's, Ti's, LVSF's, ULA's, etc. But that old Winchester remains the shootinest son of a gun I own, & it ain't finicky about what you feed it.

And I gave the guy his askin' price of $200 for it...

ya never know!

one of my favorite guns is a Savage made semi-sporterized SMLE i picked up 10 years ago for $70....have picked up a number of sporterized military rifles for under $200, several Savage 99's for less than $250, dont think ive found one of them for $200.....

Marlin XL7s new at Eds Gunshop in Vass NC $329.

best $200 rifles? adl remingtons, savage 110's, and now and then a 788

The timing on JB's article was also perfect, because that same issue had a nice write-up of the new Nosler rifle and I believe even a second article featuring somebody's new custom job. I could afford neither, yet the articles made me yearn for one. Then I got to the back page and read JB's fine article on $200 rifles and settled right down, as he convinced me they were even more appealing to a rifle loony like me.

I hear you. I couldn't afford some of the customs I was reading about either but could occasionally come up with $200. I ended up with 2 Mark X Mausers, a Remington 870 .410, a Winchester 101, and a Colt Woodsman 6" match target for $200 each. I guess for all those $200's I could have had a custom.

I bought a Sako vixen i 222 with a Bofors steel barrel for 200$ a few months ago. Guy had inherited it from his father in law. Not much used but for some reason the Sako would not sell.

10 years ago I bought a Brno ZG-47 in 8x57IS for the same money.....

You bloody well did what!!!!....I hope you wiped your pizzle when you were finished.

I could live with that.....